Talon

AND YES, I BOUGHT A GENERATOR SO THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN TO US.........having a well and not being able to have water is too difficult with horses, kids and birds......never mind no heat!

Here is a few of the reasons we had no power, I tried on day 3 to drive my son to school, but as you can see, we ended up turning around and going home after exhausting all routes near my house..... Most roads still have trees down, I still have a big one in my yard, it will be a long time before everyone is able to get cleaned up. Many are still without power here. We drove under this tree twice.... This is not my house, but was nearby......

Well, wanted to get caught up on this thread. We were without elec, water, etc. for 6 days! Took me 3-4 days to get caught up on things, put the house back together, etc... IN my boredom of keeping the fireplace going for the kids and birds, when I was alone, I took lots of pictures of the room we all spent our time in. SO here are the birds living quarters for the week. I moved our parakeets the room, here is their temporary home: Our kitchen table so we could play board games and stuff. Nilah & Rikki's cages were wheeled into this room..... Yes, the comforts of our one room home, shared by 5 birds, 3 kids, 2 dogs and 1 cat! The rest is the birds playground..... Talon: Nilah staring out the window wondering what is going on... Rikki on her side of the room..... Rikki guarding her spot.... This curtain rod with the towel on it, is where Talon slept at night.... Talon's favorite spot to warm up..... This is how we kept warm.......

OMG! I want that perch...!!

Okay, so my story is this.......when my eldest son was 14 years old, he wanted an African grey for Xmas. I asked him why, and he says cause they talk, I said don't birds live like 40 years or more, and he said yup. I said, who 's going to take are of it, he said, he would.......( ya right, i was thinking) He had 2 parakeets when he was around 6 years old until they grew old. How he ended up with them is a story in itself. One cold winter snowy day in the middle of January, my older sister showed up on my doorstep with her 2 parakeets and said," these birds are wild, they don't talk, you can't touch them and if you dont take them, I will let them go, I don't want them anymore!" I was horrified, and said OMG! Of course i'll take them. So we now had 2 parakeets. I quickly went to the store, bought a book on how to care for them and a bigger cage. So, back to when he was 14, needless to say, he didn't get a bird that Xmas, I figured it was a passing fancy, he would soon forget about it. Well, he asked every Xmas since that one. When he was 17, he asked again, I again asked why....he said it would be his only friend.....that comment tugged on my heart strings. So we researched greys together, talked about how long they lived and what that would mean to them if he ever did get one, etc. I said they too much money and live too long. I began looking for one in secret, didn't even tell my husband, found one in FL from a breeder there, not really knowing much about them, long story short, I had the bird shipped to me for Xmas and surprised my son with her, she was 8 1/2 weeks old and weaned.....so I was told. I fed her the food they were feeding her. She cried for 2 weeks and imwould try to comfort her after my son had exhausted all efforts. She is the sweetest bird ever and I fell in love with her. Well, a year later I divorced my husband, bought a house, and moved out. My son decided to stay with his father and thought it best I take Talon as I spent much of the time caring for her. All was well, I was quite happy with one parrot. During the time previous to this, my 2 younger sons wanted a bird of their own, so we got them each a parakeet and when we moved they brought them with us, so now we had 3 birds. As I was enjoying my time here on the forum, I saw post by a brand new member who had just bought an African grey Congo 5 weeks ago, who came here to ask how to keep it quiet cause it was too noisy!!! Well, I was disgusted they hadn't done their research before buying this bird and made a nasty comment to them about that and saying I would take the bird. Little did I knw, they lived about 2 hours by car from me......so, they pm'd me and asked if I would take the bird, of course I reluctantly said yes! They drove her to my house 2 days late, cried as they said good bye to Rikki, and she instantly took to me. Thus my 2nd grey! Next, we took a 2 dY trip to the Bird of Paradise store in NJ for a shopping spree of toys and a tree stand for my 2 greys. I strictly told my kids NO MORE BIRDS! Well, they spent the entire trip trying to entice me with different birds........all were told NO! They kept coming to me with this amazon parrot, telling me how sweet she was and she didn't bite......I kept saying NO! I had enough pets at home! They made one last attempt, so I leaned over to that amazon and made a sound of rolling my tongue, kind of like a brrrrrrggghhhhh sound. She copied me with the exact sound back. I did it 2 more times. She copied me 2 more times......I said, SOLD! she's ours! Thus bird number 5! I can't tell you all how much joy and happiness these birds have brought to me. Yes, they are a lot of work, expense and have totally destroyed my house and everything we own, BUT I wouldn't trade them in for anything! They are a part of our family, good and bad and I love them to pieces! Sorry form the long story, but it was fun to share, and thank you for starting this thread, it's a very enjoyable one to read!!!!

I never intended on EVER getting a bird, never mind 5! (2 parakeets, a cag, a tag, and an amazon) I am a cat lover as everyone in my family knows, they expected me to have cats running all over my house one day, not birds!!!!!!

I do the same. Always looking.

Quick update while I'm inStarbucks on wi fi. I let Talon stay in the living room last night where we have the fireplace. She slept on the curtain rod that I had placed a towel over. She seemed much happier as the temp didn't drop to 49 there like it does in her sleep cage. It seemed more like 55? Maybe.......hope to check in again, the birds aren't eating like they usually do and are definitely quieter, but they do like having us all around them. The poor things haven't been able to fly much. It gets dark very early with no light, and they freak and fly in circles in the room but can't figure out where to land with flashlights here and there...;(

Hi Ray, I am excited to hear that this room was started on your birthday! As you probably read, it was a passion of mine to have a place to learn more about Amazons after recently acquiring one that I didn't know much about. I searched the web and couldn't find any forums specifically for Amazons, and I didn't want to leave this family that I was lucky enough to be a member of....so, I decided that after all my hard work here, I would start the Amazon Room! Thant way I could stay here in this family with my greys and amazon! I have been amazed at the number of members who have amazons and greys! I LOVE reading everything that posted about amazons. I can associate with all the stories. I look forward to reading more! Ray, Thank you for keeping things going and fresh in this room. As you know, I have been without power do to the storm so I can only glance here occasionally, but this thread was important to me. Take care and hope to be back daily soon!

Thanks everyone. Checking in quickly. My house was 49 this am. Talon is not happy sleeping upstairs in her sleep cage where it is cold. I think tonight, I will let her stay on a perch in the living room, at least she will be warmer for part of the night...poor thing. At least we can go out and get a hot meal now. Looks like thurs by 11pm they are predicting.... Haven't heard anything about FEMA and I have no cell or phone service... Thanks for all the suggestions, I will check back in again soon I hope.

Hi guys, thanks for the kind words....unfortunately, Starbucks is a 45 minute drive and then the only one open, so waiting in line for about a half hour......IF you can find a parking space. They are saying the power may be on by the end of the week.... I am lucky enough to have a gas grill outside to cook dinner on, but finding food is difficult as the stores aren't able to be open. Lines and lines of cars waiting to get gas IF the stations have any, CASH only also.... I am at my dance studio, which is one of about 6 business on a strip of road that did not lose power. Came in to wash my hair and clean up, and use the phone. We have no cell service either... I will pop in when I can, I am going home to add more wood to the fireplace for my birds. They were in a bit of a shock this morning and yesterday, but then calm down and finally eat the muffins I gave them for breakfast.

Hi everyone, Talon here, I am one of the millions of people in the Northeast that got hit with this crazy snowstorm. Due to the earliness of this storm, the trees still had most of their leaves on them, thus the weight of the heavy wet snow toppled and broke many of them. Many falling on power and telephone lines and roads, blocking travel, not to mention no heat, elec, etc. It looks like a war zone here. To add to it, the temp drops down to 20 degrees at night, and it has been around 38 in the day. Power has still not come on in most places, every business, gas stations, stores are closed. Cell phone is sporadic. I have wheeled my bird cages to my living room where I have a fireplace and I can keep them warm during the day. At night, it drops down to 50 in the house, so I covered their cages with blankets. I am at Starbucks about 1 hour away using wi fi to check in and let you know I will be back as soon as I get power and internet. In the meantime, you are all in good hands with our wonderful moderators. They can help you if you need help. So keep posting and I look forward to catching up real soon I hope! I am heading home together the fireplace up and running g for my fids! Take care, Talon

No apologizes are ever needed, you did nothing wrong. Your baby is adorable!! Please keep us updated with pics and goings on!!! I am glad hes doing so well!!

My birds usually will oblige. Every once in a while, Rikki will not want to step up to go in her cage and will give a bite. When that happens, I can always tell it WILL happen before it does by the look in her eye. I usually walk way and put the others in their cage, then go back in a sweet voice with tlc in it, she will then step up. Talon likes to fly off when I'm putting her to bed many nights, as Janet does, I have to shut all the lights off, then they willingly come with me, they can't see in the dark and it scares them. Nilah will battle me at times, but I never let her win as being an amazon,that's not a good thing. She NEVER needs to get the upper hand. Sometimes I feel like my hand is hamburg...... This only happens at night. They always get a special favorite treat from me when they go in their cages unless it's bedtime. That seems to give them something to look forward to.

I think it is much too small, especially once you put enough perches and many toys in it. Also, you say your bird will be in a 6 x 6 foot room. Sounds like he will be very isolated from the rest of the family? they prefer to be WITH the family in the middle of everything their "flock" is doing....

I do the same to Talon. She came to us first, she gets everything first. Next is Rikki, she came to us second, then Nilah she came third. I do it in that order and always have as I feel they deserve to always be the first as they are used to in Their life with us.

I am honored to have my name on that list, to be a member of this greyt forum, and to have such wonderful treasured friends who care so much about others and their flocks. I am also honored to have Nilah in my family of birds.

Wow! What a castle!!!!! When does your grey get his own? Love the play stand btw! You sure are handy to have around.......

Birds CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT eat raw potatoes. but am not sure about sweet potatoes. I would air on the side of caution.

Thanks for the update Madmandy. I am happy that this grey has a loving mommy...

Yea, I am going to get my camera and bring it downstairs this minute!!!!!! Thanks for the reminders everyone!!!

Heatherstella, I am happy you came back, I have missed having you around, ceasarsdad was just asking me about you the other day, if I ever hear from you....go figure! Your Annabelle sounds like my Rikki! Very moody!!! Never know what to expect....

No, as he is not ingesting it. My cag LOVES to shred magazines up in the corner of the sink and counter in my bathroom whole I am showering. I believe she is making a nest.....

Oh my gosh....my heart breaks for the position you were thrown into. I understand you are doing the best you can. I have never hand fed a baby before, but I understand they need to be fed very carefully by a syringe and much more than 4 hours. You have to be careful not to overfeed and be careful that it does not get I to their lungs. I Dave007 gets here soon, he is your best source of advice here regarding hand feeding. But i wouldn't wait, PLEASE get this baby to an avian vet ASAP! He can help you, time is of the essence here, don't wait, he will die if not fed properly and quickly.... I wont even get into the creep this breeder is......that's for a different time. Your baby is most important right now. PLEASE rush him to a vet and learn how to properly feed and care for his needs at this age.

Yup, my dogs love it too, but one time I got Nilah s tan ding on the edge of it....YUCK!!!!!